Why is the empty state not visible when filtering CMS items in Webflow?

When filtering CMS items with a Collection List in Webflow, the Empty State may not show due to incorrect setup or unsupported filtering behavior.

1. CMS Filter May Still Return Hidden Items

• The Empty State only appears when zero items are returned from the CMS collection, not when they're hidden via visibility logic or conditional display.
• If items are in the CMS list but hidden with Conditional Visibility, Webflow still considers the list "non-empty."

2. Filters Applied via CMS Settings Must Fully Exclude Items

• Make sure your filtering is applied using the Collection List Settings (e.g., Category is "X").
• If list items are filtered using custom JS, interactions, or visibility controls — and not CMS filtering — the Empty State won't trigger.

3. Display:None Doesn’t Count as "Empty"

• Hiding all CMS items using display: none styles or interactions will not activate the Empty State.
• Webflow only activates the Empty State when the CMS query itself returns 0 items.

4. Nested Collection Lists or Conditional Collections

• If you're using nested or referenced lists, make sure the filter applies to the outermost parent collection.
• Filtering inside nested lists sometimes produces confusion because the overall list isn’t empty — just certain sub-items.

5. CMS Limitations in Preview Mode

• In Designer Preview, the Empty State may not behave exactly as expected, especially with filters that depend on live CMS or user input.
• Always publish the site to test real-time Empty State behavior.

Summary

The Empty State only appears when the CMS Collection List returns zero items from the query, not just when items are hidden. Ensure you're using Collection List Settings filters and not just Conditional Visibility or custom styling. Publish the site to confirm the behavior.